Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of giving the responsibility for the allocation of GP surgeries to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans for assessing whether the responsibility of the allocation of general practice surgeries should fall to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Upper-tier local authorities currently have a role in improving health and influencing health and care strategies through participation in integrated care partnerships (ICPs) and integrated care boards (ICBs). ICBs are National Health Service organisations responsible for planning health services for their local population, including Primary Medical Services. ICBs are legally required to have local government representation on their board. Each integrated care system (ICS) includes an ICP, formed of NHS organisations and upper-tier local authorities, which is responsible for developing an integrated care strategy. The ICB works to deliver this through developing a joint plan with partner local authorities, managing the NHS budget, and arranging for the provision of health services in the ICS area.

The healthcare needs of local populations affect the funding which practices receive. Global sum payments for general practice contractors are based on a weighted sum for every person registered with the practice, using the Carr-Hill formula to estimate the practices’ workload.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department plans to take to support the establishment of Banking Hubs in town centres that no longer have any bank branches.

Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and is committed to championing sufficient access for all as a priority. This is why the Government is working closely with industry to roll out 350 banking hubs across the UK. The UK banking sector has committed to deliver these hubs by the end of this parliament. Over 80 banking hubs are already open and Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, expect 100 hubs to be open by Christmas.

The specific location of these hubs is determined independently by LINK, the operator of the UK’s largest ATM network. LINK considers certain criteria, such as whether another bank branch remains nearby, the local population, the number of cash-accepting businesses and the financial vulnerability of the community. An assessment of a community’s cash access needs can be requested on LINK’s website.

An alternative option for accessing face-to-face banking services is via the Post Office. The Post Office Banking Framework allows personal and business customers to withdraw and deposit cash, cash cheques, and check their balance at 11,500 Post Office branches across the UK.

Housing

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Florence Eshalomi (Chair); Lewis Cocking; Chris Curtis; Mr Lee

Found: Q26 Lewis Cocking: Thank you.